To meet the demanding performance and harsh environmental conditions of automotive applications, component manufacturers have developed professional-grade tantalum capacitors that ensure long-term electrical performance stability. The professional tantalum technology satisfies the automotive industry’s need for rugged capacitors that maintain high-performance standards under electrical and mechanical stress. Technical improvements have been made that strengthen the structure of the capacitor and give it more robust performance in a variety of applications.
The primary benefits of using professional-grade tantalum over standard reliability consumer electronic tantalum include:
- The formation ratio of professional tantalum capacitors, (which is the ratio between voltage used for electrolytical creation of dielectrics and rated voltage), is more than 3.0. This results in thicker and higher quality dielectrics.
- Conservative design rules are followed both in design and manufacturing. Strict quality control limits are applied and additional testing is performed. Devices are screened for hard surge current, undergo extended electrical testing, and accelerated burn-in processes are used to achieve and verify robustness.
The use of professional tantalum capacitors results in enhanced reliability (failure rate = 0.5%/1,000 hours) and reduced leakage current of up to 75% less than standard tantalum capacitors. Professional tantalum capacitors are available both in standard and low equivalent series resistance (ESR) options, which make them suitable for a wide range of automotive control circuits in applications such as engine control units, anti-lock brake systems, motor-driven power steering systems, electronic gearboxes, and tire-pressure monitoring sensors.
For more detail: Advanced capacitors ensure long-term performance stability
